Guest Post: The Benefits of Dry Farming a Vineyard Organically

by Brian Jones, Jonesing for Wine

Symphony of the Soil, Sonatas of the Soil DVD cover

I recently watched Portrait of a Winemaker featuring John Williams of Frog’s Leap Winery in Napa Valley. This is part of Sonatas of the Soil Volume One which is directed by Deborah Koons Garcia. Deborah directed the widely acclaimed The Future of Food which focuses on genetically modified foods. Her latest documentary, Symphony of the Soil, premiered last weekend. I’ll have a much shorter post about it in a couple of days since it isn’t directly related to beer, wine, and/or spirits.

Having talked to many winemakers and vineyard managers while working in the industry, having family in the industry, being a wine writer, and going wine tasting, I can safely tell you that every winemaker/grape grower can talk about their product well and why their method is better than the rest. With that being said I think John Williams is a straight shooter and they have put forth a solid segment with strong historical, viticultural, and visual reasoning.

Continue reading →

Response to Biochar: SF Chronicle

Kimberly Gomes recently wrote an article on Biochar for the SF Chronicle exploring its’ potential to ameliorate the issue of nutrient loss in low carbon soil. Biochar is a substance we here at Lily Films have often mused about. In our short film, The Promise of Biochar we explore the substance (carbon made from burning biomass in low-oxygen situations through a process known as pyrolysis.)

It has been hailed as the perfect blend of indigenous wisdom and modern technology, and many claim it to be the silver bullet of climate change, soil exhaustion, and resource depletion. But can one substance really achieve all these goals without any externalities?

Biochar, Symphony of the Soil

Picture by Harley Soltes

Continue reading →

Cowell Screening

Last Friday night Symphony of the Soil was shown to our friends and family. After five years of inquisitive conversations about, what exactly, we all have been doing, they were allowed to witness the grace and beauty of the final product.

Appetizers before Cowell theater showing of Symphony of the Soil Guests assembled in the lobby before the screening

Deborah Koons Garcia acknowledging the crew of Symphony of the Soil Symphony of the Soil Sweet Peas

Complete with 6 buckets of sweet peas from Fat Cabbage farm in Pescadero- the after-party so too was delightful. Full bar, DJ, and live music from Diane Patterson completed the evening.

Symphony Star Daniel Hillel Wins 2012 World Food Prize!

Yesterday it was announced that Symphony of the Soil star Daniel Hillel is the winner of the 2012 World Food Prize!

Dr Hillel is being honored at as pioneer in reducing water use in agriculture. While a youth in Israel he invented what is now commonly called ‘drip irrigation’- an efficient method of delivering water to plants via plastic tubes placed directly next to plants. As water will become an increasingly contested resource in the coming years, the World Food Prize wanted to recognize Dr Hillel’s early contribution to the concept of agricultural water sustainability.

Dr Daniel Hillel

Farm Bill 2012: Remembering the Soil

A picture of a tractor over the text: 2012 Farm Bill Every five years congress debates and reauthorizes a piece of legislation known as the Farm Bill. More aptly nicknamed the Farm and Food Bill by many food activists, this legislation pays for everything from food stamps, to conservation programs, to agricultural research priorities. Originally authorized during the Dust Bowl, and pushed by Hugh Hammond Bennett– the man who started the Soil Conservation Service (known in its present form is known as the NRCS)- the Farm Bill was enacted to serve two primary purposes. First, to support farms across the country in times of economic depression, so that farmers wouldn’t starve when prices hit bottom and, secondly (and most important to our cause) to mandate that farmers who received government aid enacted simple soil conservation techniques that would prevent the likes of the dust bowl from happening again.

While we as a nation have clung mightily to the concept of supporting farmers in times of need- we have forgotten Bennett’s impetus that saving our soil should be a national priority. Congress has since unlinked the direct payment (commodity-crop subsidy) program from the necessity to conserve the soil- thereby allowing egregious soil mismanagement by farmers who are simultaneously being subsidized by tax payer dollars.

Instead of a hand in glove approach, soil conservation practices have since the mid 80’s been encouraged through the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)– which pays farmers to put marginal land out of production, and gives grants to growers to plant hedgerows, wildlife corridors, and beneficiary insect habitat.

This year, everything is set to change. As congress is trying to slim down anything that could be construed as wasteful fat off of the national budget, the direct payment program is on the chopping block- backed by an odd mix of environmentalists and large corn-belt farmers. Good Food movement activists who have, for decades, tried to eliminate the subsidies to the nations largest (and primarily conventional) farms are thrilled the direct payment program looks to be going the way of the Dodo.

Continue reading →